My Janome 6600P is back home and perfect!!!

My Janome 6600P is back home. It only cost a regular service fee. There was a "bind". But I do not know what that was as my hubby* picked the machine up for me. It needed to be timed too. And I asked for two new light bulbs as they have been flickering.

I am happy!!!

*(I was afraid to even venture in the dealership. I cannot afford a new machine. I must stay away from temptation!!!)

 I have been making blue Shaded 9-patches per Our Bonnie Hunter of www.quiltville.com fame. This is the Leaders and Enders challenge for 2013-2014. I have been making color controlled blocks.
I made a pink one first in the Sunshine & Shadows setting.
This setting is called Whirl a gig.
This was pieced on my 1932 Featherweight (Sissy). She really was a joy to sew on but I  missed the needle down and the knee lift features from my Janome.

I made this unit and then a mirror image. I added a single row to each end and then joined the two larger units. WHOOHOOOT! I love making these blocks. And I have to give a big "thank you" to my dear Hubby. He helped me design the layout. And kept at me when I wavered!!!

And I am working away on making little spool pin thread doilies.
XOXOXOXO Subee

Blessings and Chipmunks are awake!

Hubby suggested and I totally agreed that we wanted sashings bewteen the blocks.

Now all we/I need to do is select a border fabric to call this quilt done. I really enjoyed making these blocks. The quilt is called Blessings from the Hollow by Mary Flynn.

It is in a newest book from Kim Brackett called Scrap Basket Sensations.

The instructions were clear and consise. I am ready to tackle another pattern in the book.



Organization is the key to success to piecing. Being a control freak this helps me keep things straight. I went through all the steps at the same time for each fabric set. I double sewed all the folded corners and have a nice little basket full of 2" half square triangles. Before I knew it I was ready to assemble all the blocks.  The pattern was really a pleasure to piece.

I added this GREEN pincushion to my newest sewing machine.

The cushion hangs on the extra thread spool pin.

Sheila ( the machine's name) sewed all 26 of my guild's block swap blocks.

We went through 3 bobbins and she did not have a problem at all.

The sewing machine store owner finally called me and they are ordering the new part anyway.

I bought myself a new purse. I also bought a Laurel Burch tote bag.

I cannot believe that I forgot to snap a picture of it!

Hubby took me shopping to a new quilt store (Quilts and Friends in Roanoke, Indiana) on my BD.

The store has a "Man Cave" for the hubbies.

I spent a blissful couple hours shopping without worring about him being bored!

And the store was to die for! Even I was on sensory overload!

I ended up spending all my BD monies on fabric for daughter #2's BD quilt.

Her BD is in May and she loves Oriental.

I bought some great Oriental fabrics. I am going to do some abstract piecing with big hunks of the fabric. Then will added pieced blocks around the larger hunks. It will be like working with panels.

THE CHIPMUNKS ARE AWAKE!!!!!!

This is the first chipmunk I have seen this Spring.

The cats are on "high alert". They are used to the birds and the squirrels.

But these chipmunks bring out the hunting urge in even the most laid back of my kitties!

The chipmunk is there but I wanted to show you the kitties watching.

All five of them were there but I was not able ( or fast enough ) to get them in the picture.

We have had rainy weather but it is warming up.

I hate the time change.

Paper Piecing planning

 I love to paper piece. The results are so precise. But it does take some planning.

I remember when I first started paper piecing. The instructions were so vague and we were told to use "hunks" of fabric. That way is too wasteful and at times when you would fold the fabric, parts of the pattern would not be covered completely.

I have developed my own way to insure the right results. I lay a ruler over the pattern area and measure generously. The minimum you need around an area is 1/4". Live on the edge and use that measurement if you wish. But that also means there is no room for any misalignment or postioning errors. I use a 1/2" allowance. I still do not use much extra fabric and I am always sure that my pattern area is covered perfectly. And since I use squares to cut my pattern pieces the straight of grain is right where it needs to be. Pre-cutting is a time saver too!
But before I cut any fabric I cut the piece from a piece of paper. I write the measurement on the paper piece and lay that over the pattern area to double check. If I am happy I then begin to cut my fabric.

I stack all my cut pieces, like with like as you can see in the picture. I also check them off the master pattern piece. This little bit of planning gives me the edge and I get perfect blocks everytime! If the pattern is really complicated I glue a piece of the correct fabric to the master pattern. I call this my "road map". This was also the term I used during my 31 years of working in the shipping department in a factory. It kept me from retracing my steps and I was always aware of where I was on my orders no matter how complicated they were. I kept advancing in that area until I was the "lead person". I trained all new people coming into the shipping department. I could tell from the first week what part of the area the new person was suited for or NOT AT ALL!

 Isn't this a beautiful block? I used my new Janome DCQ 3160 to do the sewing. She works really good for paper piecing as she has the thread cutter button. I love that button! The only thing I miss on this machine is the knee lift bar that is on the Janome6600P.

I spent the entire day yesterday back in the cutting room sewing on this machine. Hubby keeps complaining that he misses me when I am back there. He is so sweet to want my company even though he is in the other part of the house when I am sewing in my main sewing area in the living room.

I do feel as if I am in a sardine can back in that little room. But I also have a feeling of comimg back home as I used to sew in this room from the beginning. (that was before my fabric collection, sewing machine collection and supplies took over two spare rooms and the entire living room.) I still have my eye on the family room for a longarm machine but Hubby says "NO WAY"!

I know I had posted I was ready to return this machine. I still have not heard back from the sewing machine store about the recall on this machine. Yet I cannot get the machine to foul up again. I worked her hard yesterday. I am a marathon sewer...hours on end. The machine was an angel. And I feel that after 8 solid hours sewing , the machine would have messed up. The machine is powerful and quiet. I can no longer complain about her. And I want to name her. That means she is staying!

 My new Topstitch needles came yesterday. I ordered them through Needlecoop, a Yahoo group. WHOOOHOOO! 200 new needles. These are titanium coated. That adds major time to their use before they get dull. It does add cost to them too. But I am VERY happy with these needles.

Thank you Organ needle company for making these needles!

 My first sighting of a Robin in our front yard. Hubby and I have been hearing them but as of yesterday had not seen one to be sure. The males arrive first. This one is fat and healthy. I offered him some bread and he was not afraid of me.
Today I put some more bread out and he flew down and started enjoying the bread before I was back in the house. I know that they are wild animals. But I really feel an afinity with creatures. I have squirrels that take peanuts from my hand and I am almost positive this bird remembers that "food" comes from this house and he returned from his migration to find it.

 Isn't he a nice chubby Robin?

And the grass almost looks green!

I love my Janomes!